The first images from the DART probe that saves us from extinction

DART . mission It started at the end of November. The probe was launched into space atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in California. So far, the entire project has been going well. NASA announced that the craft is heading towards its target, the asteroid Didymus and its moon Demoprihos. This is what the probe will hit in October 2022.

Scientists published the first pictures taken by the camera Draco (Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation), which will be used for space guidance and navigation. In the pictures we can see, among other things Messier 38, i.e. the open cluster in the constellation Woźnica.

In October 2022, the asteroid Didymos will be about 11 million km from Earth. This distance is more than 30 times the distance of the Earth to the Moon. So, in theory, we would be safe, but it will change in the future. The poll is supposed to First ever kinetic shock in space rock. The entire event will be closely monitored by a vehicle owned by the European Space Agency, which will send images and data directly to Earth.

Scientists hope to obtain valuable information about the asteroid itself and, on this basis, develop the first technologies that will allow us to protect ourselves from the influence of cosmic rocks. Interestingly, NASA recently announced that such things can be used Neutralizing nuclear weapons. It is not about their complete destruction, as it is impossible, but about changing the flight path by kinetic effect.